US: Egypt violence ’serious blow’ to peace efforts WASHINGTON (AP) — In a stern warning to Egypt’s leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry said the escalating violence throughout the country Wednesday had dealt a “serious blow” to political reconciliation efforts between the military-backed interim government and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. Still, Obama administration officials signaled no change in U.S. policy toward Egypt or clear consequences for the mounting violence. The...

Utah fire destroys 13 homes near resort town WANSHIP, Utah (AP) — A wildfire threatened hundreds of homes Wednesday after destroying more than a dozen others outside the resort town of Park City. The lightning-sparked blaze was among several in the West where fires have devoured dry grass and brush and burned to the edges of small communities. Shifting winds in Utah pushed the fire toward homes in a subdivision about 10 miles outside Park City. It destroyed a dozen homes on Tuesday, plus...

Manning takes stand, apologizes for hurting US FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Pfc. Bradley Manning took the stand Wednesday at his sentencing hearing in the WikiLeaks case and apologized for hurting his country, pleading with a military judge for a chance to go to college and become a productive citizen. He addressed the court on a day of often emotional testimony from family members about his troubled childhood and from a psychologist who said Manning felt extreme mental pressure in the “hyper-ma...

Uncertainty awaits airline industry without merger DALLAS (AP) — The merger between American Airlines and US Airways was supposed to cap an era of consolidation that helped the airline industry return to profitability. And it would make American a viable competitor to giants United and Delta. The government’s lawsuit to block the merger has put both of those expectations in doubt. Airline investors fear that if American can’t grow by merging, it will add flights, which will lower airfares and ...

Likely Labor regs would aid vets, disabled, unions WASHINGTON (AP) — With Thomas Perez now confirmed as head of the Labor Department, the agency is expected to unleash a flurry of new regulations that have been bottled up for months — a prospect that has business leaders worried and labor advocates cheering. Some long-awaited rules would help boost employment for veterans and the disabled, increase wages for home health care workers and set new limits for workplace exposure to dangerous silica...

Experts: Fort Hood victims shot while lying down FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — At least four people killed during a gunman’s rampage at Fort Hood in 2009 were likely shot while lying on the floor inside a building at the Texas military base, experts testified Wednesday during the accused shooter’s trial. Pathologists who conducted several autopsies of the victims described the wounds caused by an FN 5.7 semi-automatic pistol while testifying at the military trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan. He is accused...

Study: Half who now buy own health plan to get aid WASHINGTON (AP) — About half the people who now buy their own health insurance — and potentially would face higher premiums next year under President Barack Obama’s health care law — would qualify for federal tax credits to offset rate shock, according to a new private study. Many other people, however, earn too much money to be eligible for help, and could end up paying more. The estimate, being released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Fa...

Where were you during the blackout of 2003? About 50 million people lost power Aug. 14, 2003, when a tree branch in Ohio started an outage that cascaded across a broad swath from Michigan to New England and Canada. Commuters in New York City and elsewhere had to sleep on steps, hitchhike or walk home as trains were rendered powerless and gas pumps stopped working; food spoiled as refrigerators and freezers thawed; jugs of water sold out as supply plants lost their ability to supply cons...

UPS jet crashes near Birmingham airport, 2 dead BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A UPS cargo plane crashed into a field near the Birmingham airport Wednesday, killing two pilots and scattering wreckage over a rural area moments after witnesses heard the massive A300 jet coming in at treetop level. People living near the airfield reported seeing flames coming from the plane and hearing its engines struggle in the final moments before impact. “It was on fire before it hit,” said Jerome Sanders, who li...

Louisiana hostage-taker wrote about anger over breakup ST. JOSEPH, La. (AP) — The gunman in a fatal hostage standoff wrote that he was angry at his ex-girlfriend’s family and believed they were responsible for a device in his head, the sheriff said. Authorities said 20-year-old Fuaed (FOO-od) Abdo Ahmed shot two hostages, killing one, at a rural Louisiana bank on Tuesday before state police ended the hours-long standoff by shooting him dead. The standoff began around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when author...

Fan who fell to his death knew Braves stadium well ATLANTA (AP) — Lifetime Atlanta Braves fan Ronald Lee Homer Jr. knew the stadium where he fell to his death well. He attended three or four games a month at Turner Field and watched as many televised games as he could, his father said. He always had on a Braves hat. On Monday night, Homer, 30, was waiting out a rain delay in a fourth-level smoking area with a 42-inch railing that would have come up to the 6-foot-6 fan’s midsection. He’d told h...

Average credit card debt per borrower dips in 2Q LOS ANGELES (AP) — Americans remain stingy about carrying credit card balances and are making more of an effort to make timely payments, trends that have helped whittle the rate of late payments on credit cards down to the lowest level in nearly 20 years. The rate of credit card payments at least 90 days overdue fell in the second quarter to 0.57 percent. That’s the lowest level since 1994, credit reporting agency TransUnion said Tuesday. The ...

Boston mob boss convicted; much still unresolved BOSTON (AP) — His attorney says the moment he was caught, Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger knew his life would end in prison or strapped to a gurney, awaiting lethal injection. But even after his two-month trial in federal court and his conviction Monday in 11 killings, his fate is uncertain and his day in the spotlight is not over. Bulger’s promised to appeal his federal conviction, and his attorneys say he still has secrets to tell abou...

Teen found safe in Idaho; alleged abductor killed CASCADE, Idaho (AP) — A man suspected of killing a California woman and her young son before fleeing with her 16-year-old daughter was killed in the Idaho wilderness and the teen was found safe Saturday, authorities said. James Lee DiMaggio, 40, was killed by FBI tactical agents at the north end of Morehead Lake, San Diego Sheriff William D. Gore said. The shooting came after officers participating in a massive manhunt spotted a campsite from ...

10 years after blackout, US grid faces new threats The U.S. electrical grid is better managed and more flexible a decade after its largest blackout but remains vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather, cybersecurity threats, and stress caused by shifts in where and how power is produced. Many worry the grid isn’t fully prepared for the new and emerging challenges, even though an analysis conducted for The Associated Press shows maintenance spending has steadily increased since North America’...

Surveillance debate intrudes into Obama’s agenda WASHINGTON (AP) — For President Barack Obama, August was supposed to be the time when a major immigration bill landed on his desk. There was hope for movement on a deficit deal with Republicans, and in the optimistic early days of his second term, even a belief that he would have achieved stricter gun laws. Instead, Obama finds his fifth year in office beset by distractions, perhaps none with broader implications than the revelation of secret ...

Endangered species thrive on US military ranges SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (AP) — The sign leaves no doubt about the risk in entering the steep seaside hills that North America’s rarest bird calls home: “Danger. Boom. Explosives. Unexploded Ordnance and Laser Range in Use. Keep Out.” Despite the weekly explosions that rock this Navy-owned island off the Southern California coast, the San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike has been rebounding from the brink of extinction, even on the militar...

Not vacation: Summer learning programs crucial WASHINGTON (AP) — For many students and teachers, summer vacation was more like summer term. Reading lists. Science camps. Portfolio development. The to-do list for kids and teachers sound remarkably alike. Schools are on the hook to improve student performance on high-stakes tests, administrators are eyeing more science and technology instruction, and parents are demanding more for their children. Some studies suggest students lose as much as...

Funeral held for Pa. boy who was parents’ best man JEANETTE, Pa. (AP) — In his short life, the 2-year-old Pennsylvania boy who died days after he served as best man at his parents’ wedding touched the hearts of many people. The Rev. Jan Zotter told a funeral audience Saturday that Logan Stevenson’s life “had an impact over the whole world.” About 75 family and friends attended the service at the Mason-Gelder Funeral Home in Jeannette, about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Tribune-R...